Oct’25 Brent futures rose over $68.00/bbl this morning, reaching $68.21/bbl at 11.11 BST but softening to $68.13/bbl at 11.23 BST (time of writing). Sinopec, China’s biggest refiner, will cut refining throughput for a second year as gasoline and diesel demand slumps amid rapid EV adoption and wider use of LNG trucks. First-half net profit dropped 36% to 23.8 billion yuan ($3.3 billion), the weakest since 2020, with refinery runs falling 4.8% to 4.87mb/d. Gasoline demand slid 4.6% and diesel 4.3% in H1, outweighing a 4.2% rise in jet fuel, with overall Q2 oil demand down 561 kb/d y/y. China has snapped up at least 15 Russian crude cargoes from ports that usually supply India, Gazeta Express reports. Kpler data shows refiners booked 13 for October and two for November, signalling a shift in trade flows as India scales back purchases. India will keep buying oil “wherever it gets the best deal,” Ambassador Vinay Kumar told TASS, stressing energy security for 1.4 billion people and calling US criticism of Russian imports “unfair and unjustified.”. Kazakhstan’s environment ministry has reinstated a $4.4 billion fine on NCOC and its partners at the Kashagan oil field for sulfur pollution, despite a recent court ruling in their favour. The consortium, including Eni, Shell, Exxon and TotalEnergies, called the move “deeply troubled,” saying it breaches their production-sharing deal and international law. The dispute adds to wider Kazakh claims exceeding $160 billion against the $55 billion project. Finally, at the time of writing, the front spread (Oct/Nov’25) and six-month (Oct/Apr’26) Brent futures spreads stand at $0.53/bbl and $1.56/bbl, respectively.
